The gangster epic is looking a little tired nowadays. Ridley Scott’s newest is, like The Departed before it, an overlong, self- serious attempt to relive the glory days of The Godfather and Goodfellas (or even Carlito’s Way), undeniably entertaining but possessing relatively little of it’s predecessors’ wit, style or insight. And why choose to focus on the seen-it-all-before rise to fame part of the Frank Lucas story, when the final stages- Lucas turns state’s evidence and puts all his old rivals behind bars- seems so much more interesting? Perhaps the film’s producers were afraid of a backlash by the sponsors of American ghettoland’s recent and popular ‘don’t tell’ campaign.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: 35mm print
27 Nov 2007 11:25 AM | Submit Comment
